Neva's first name was Lora, but like all of her brothers and sisters (and their father), she went by her middle name, Neva. (Source: Wheeler family Bible, family stories, obits.) Neva was the 11th of 13 children of James William "Bill" Wheeler, born in 1872 at Van Alstyne, Grayson County, Texas, and Lena Caroline Von Keller, born in 1875 in Coblenz, Germany. Bill and Lena were married on June 5, 1896 in Chillicothe, Texas. Click on Neva's parent's names below and you will find information on them and links to all 13 children as well as their final resting places.

Neva was born (exactly 16 yrs. after her parents were married) at what she called, "the old home place," a two-story house with light gray colored siding, that was located on the south side of Colfax Avenue, about 1/2 block west of Main Street in Greensburg, Kansas. Neva said this property included an orchard. A photo of this house is included here. Note that Neva's brother Folsom and his wife Leona's two-story house was located on the northwest corner of south Main Street and Colfax Avenue. Unfortunately, both of these houses were destroyed or heavily damaged in the May 4, 2007 tornado and are now gone.

Neva spoke of a blizzard that occurred when she was a child that created such huge drifts they had to tunnel through the snow to get to the barn in order to take care of the animals.

Neva attended North Elementary School in Greensburg and graduated with honors from Greensburg High School in 1930. Neva's sister, Ophelya (married Raleigh Puyear), was one of Neva's grade school teachers. Ophelya was about 13 years older than Neva.

Neva's 1930 high school graduation class totaled 34. Neva kept a copy of the graduation program. Their names are listed as; Marcelene Adams, Cecil Ahrens, Joyce Anderson, Rachel Askins, Pauline Brown, Beryl Cromer, Una Crowe, Libern Cunningham, Virgil Fark, Walter Gates, Walter Hubert, Florence Kerrick, Calvin Kinyon, Neil Kimberly, Lorna Liggett, Mildred Lyon, Doris Miller, Blaine Miller, Willis Miller, Ada Preston, Arden Rinehart, Ray Rinehart, Margaret Smith, Mary Lucille Taylor, Raymond Tucker, Ronald Vice, Irene Walker, Wanda Weide, Pearl Wells, Neva Wheeler, Dora Wilson, Edith Winters, Leonard Woods and Mabel Workman.
The honor roll students were all female. They are listed as Mary Lucille Taylor, Valedictorian; Neva Wheeler, Salutatorian; Joyce Anderson; Wanda Weide; Rachel Askins; Lorna Liggett and Pearl Wells.

Even Neva's grandchildren didn't realize for years that Neva was not her first name. For whatever reason, all the kids and their father in this Wheeler family went by their middle name.

From about 1930-1932, Neva taught school in a one-room school house located a short distance southeast of Greensburg. Her class would have covered multiple grades, most likely first through eighth grades, or possibly grades 1-12. Many years later, this little school house was moved to Greensburg (on Highway 54 on the north side of the street), to be later restored, but unfortunately was destroyed in the May 2007 tornado.

Neva was married to Orlo A. Miller on September 30, 1930 in Kinsley, Kansas located a few short miles north of Greensburg. Orlo said they'd eloped, not telling anyone, at least not Orlo's father, Alvin. When Alvin returned home, Neva was there. Alvin asked what was going on? Orlo told him they got married. Neva and Orlo became the parents of two children, Vada Lucille Miller and Melvin Dean Miller.

It was said when Vada was born it was so cold in the house that morning that the bread in the kitchen was frozen.

Around 1934, Orlo worked for Raleigh Puyear on his farm located 3-5 northeast of Johnson, Kansas. Raleigh was married to Neva's sister, Ophelya. It was during this time Orlo, Neva and Vada lived in a bunkhouse located behind the Puyear's farmhouse. Neva spoke of hanging damp sheets over the windows because of the dust picked up by the wind. This was during the dust bowl years of the mid-west. A photo of the bunkhouse is included here. A photo of the farmhouse is shown on the Findagrave page of Ophelya Puyear.

Neva had 3 brothers that worked on the Hoover Dam. They were Hi (Adolphus), Louie and Oren. The Hoover Dam, originally called Boulder Dam, was started in 1931 and completed in 1936 ahead of schedule and under budget. It employed as many as 5,000 workers at one time, and 110 lost their lives. It contains enough concrete to make a 4 foot wide sidewalk around the world. This dam creates the largest man-made lake in the U. S., Lake Meade, supplying drinking water and electricity for millions of people in several states. It was named one of the 10 greatest construction projects of the 20th century.

In June 1941, Neva wrote to her sister Marian in Buckeye, Arizona that Neva, Orlo and their kids were living in a 3 room apartment located at 1843 S. Washington Street in Wichita. The rent was $4.50 per week with all bills paid. Neva wrote that this apartment was pretty well out of town, 1 block from the bus, and they also had the use of a new electric washer, vacuum cleaner and iron.

In Wichita, Neva first worked for a few years as a seamstress at Fruhauf's, where they made uniforms. Her pay was 10 cents an hour and they weren't allowed to even get a drink of water except at certain break periods. Fruhauf's, which started in Wichita in 1910, is still going strong today in Wichita, specializing in school band uniforms. Neva briefly worked as a saleslady in a downtown dress shop on Douglas Avenue. Neva later worked for a number of years as a seamstress in the Upholstery Department (Department #33) at the east plant at Cessna Aircraft, making the seats for their airplanes.

Neva's daughter, Vada, said that they'd occasionally go to see a traveling circus which would set-up on the southeast corner of Pawnee and Broadway in Wichita. Vada, who was small at that time, said her parents laughed when she said she was afraid of the elephants.

Neva was known for many things. Almost too many to list. She was an expert seamstress. Using the skills she'd perfected, in her spare time she made dresses for herself and shirts for Orlo. She also made as many as a half dozen shirts, suit jackets and slacks for each of her grandsons Larry, Mike, Charles, and Ken. Several of the suit jackets have a label stating, "Custom Made Especially For You By Neva Miller." Several of Neva's grandsons are wearing these suit coats, etc., in their high school graduation photos. John Wheeler, son of Neva's brother, Pete, said that Neva made shirts for him and other items for his sister. Neva's handiwork lives on as the young men's suits she made for her grandsons have been donated to The Wichita Children's Theater. Neva also made dresses for granddaughter Karen as well as clothes for son-in-law Gene. No one else would have ever guessed that any of these clothes made by Neva came from anywhere but a high-end clothing store. One year, Neva made quilts for each one of her grandkids, as well as son Mel and daughter Vada. Over the years, Neva even re-upholstered a few couches and chairs in their home.

Neva was certainly known for her cooking. Neva's mother died in 1920, when Neva was just 7 years old. That meant Neva learned about cooking very early on with her sisters and would later do most of the cooking for her dad and brothers and sisters that still lived at home. A page, hand written Neva by Neva in high school, shows that she had some training in cooking from her Domestic Science class. Neva had quite a collection of recipes from her sisters, sister-in-laws, women in her church, and any other place she might see them. She kept these recipes in a book which she could quickly find which was located in her basement. Before they had electricity, Neva would use a crank style egg beater for the egg whites for her angel food cakes, which required 12 eggs per cake. For years, Neva was known to mail angel food cakes to her brothers and other close family members on their birthdays. Marvin Barnhart recently stated that they received angel food cakes from Neva when Marvin was staying with his uncles Hi (Adolphus), Pete and Louie in Arizona. How these cakes arrived there in one piece and how she packaged them is a mystery.

For us, the grandkids of Neva and Orlo, on most Sundays, right after church, we would be off to grandma and grandpa's house for (a huge) Sunday dinner at 2106 S. Gold, in Wichita. From her homemade rolls, to broken glass salad, to cherry and pumpkin pies, to her famous caramel cake and red cake, there was no better food anywhere. In fact, at large family get-togethers, Neva's grandkids couldn't have cared less about food brought by others. All they were interested in was locating food cooked by their grandma and their mom. I'm very sure that many other family members made locating Neva and Vada's cooking their top priority as well.

In 1950, Orlo and Neva bought their house located at 2106 S. Gold in Wichita for about $6,000.00. The house faces west, and as you enter, the average size living room opens to the right into a small hallway with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. There is just one bathroom in the house. At the northeast corner the living room takes you into the kitchen. The kitchen was fairly small with metal cabinets with a hard painted surface on 3 sides of the kitchen. Grandma kept the kitchen, and the rest of house, in perfect appearance. A backdoor was located on the north side of the kitchen which led to a small back porch. On the north side of the kitchen a large doorway opened into small dining room. On the west side of the dining room was a one car garage. In the 1960s, son-in-law Gene and his dad Harry converted this attached one-car garage into a family room, connecting to the dining room to make one large area. The house had a basement under the house except the family room/dining room. The basement opened into a family room on the west side and a small bedroom on the southeast corner. A kitchen with a Chambers stove, freezer, cabinets, and shower were on the northeast side. Grandpa (Orlo) used this shower as there was no shower in the upstairs bathroom. In about the early 1970's they had aluminum siding installed over the wood lapped siding, improving the appearance and making it more insulated. Neva had Moon Flowers, Surprise Lilies (also known as Naked Ladies), tulips and Paul's Scarlet Roses in her yard. The roses were on both sides of the back porch. Some of each of these flowers were replanted at her daughter's home at 2228 St. Louis Street in Wichita.
When conditions are right, a train whistle can be heard from the yard of Orlo and Neva's house on Gold Street. It's from the small train at O. J. Watson Park located about 1/2 of a mile due south, right across the river. Orlo and Neva's grandkids rode that train many times. The little train still blows its whistle as it gives rides to about 25,000 people a year. This 120 acre park with a large fishing and boating lake was frequently used for large family get-togethers by Orlo's Miller family over the years. Every time I've visited that park I think about those times and what a great park it is.

Neva had a close relationship with her brothers and sisters which was evident during family dinners in Greensburg. Neva and her sister Marion were close, but they had an unusual, and I think funny, relationship. Neva was not a complainer, but for some reason it was commonplace to hear Neva fuss about some little thing Marion had said or done. Marion called Neva at noon one day, to which Neva said, "Why did she call then, she knows we eat at noon." For many years, as well as their later years, Neva and Marion lived not much more than a mile from each other. It was during this period that Marion and Neva would speak almost daily on the phone. What a pair.

Being a great cook, Grandma (Neva) would generally prepare something special for the trick-or-treaters on Halloween. As grandkids we were lucky enough to sample some of these treats which included caramel apples, popcorn balls and homemade donuts with chocolate icing. This recipe for donuts has been carried on by her daughter Vada and granddaughter Karen.

Neva would can green beans and tomatoes from their garden. Canning, common then, consisted of sealing vegetables in jars instead of storing them in a freezer.

Grandma and grandpa set up a small swimming pool in their backyard (on south Gold Street) for us grandkids in the summer. Over the years the pools got larger. The bigger of these pools may have been nearly 2 1/2 feet deep. Photos show us grandkids in an earlier, smaller pool, packed in like sardines. The important thing was that we got cooled off and had fun.

Grandma, and I'm sure grandpa, knew that many different things could entertain kids. The old joke that the box a toy came in could be as much fun as the toy became real to us. Grandma and grandpa kept a large box that their refrigerator came in knowing it would be interesting to us kids. We cut holes in it for windows and made a door or two, using it as a club house.

Orlo and Neva's generosity knew no bounds. In 1972, Orlo and Neva bought a dark blue 1971 Dodge Coronet. Rather than trade in their old car, they gave their powder blue, 4-door, 1963 Dodge Polara, with just 47,000 miles on it, to grandsons Larry and Mike. It was in nearly new condition with a 318 V8 engine, push-button automatic transmission unique to Chrysler Corp. cars of that period, power steering, power brakes, a transistor AM radio (It used transistors instead of tubes and therefore required no warm-up time.), oblong steering wheel and an after-market air-conditioner located right under the dash. It was really one of the best and most practical cars I'd driven, a good combination of performance and economy. Man, did I love that car! Later, Charles and Ken would later drive this car for several years. Orlo mentioned he saw this '63 Polara in the showroom at Spencer's Dodge on east Douglas and bought it new. Later, Orlo and Neva would give granddaughter Karen their 1971 Dodge when they bought a new 1979 Chrysler Cordoba.

A few entertainers Neva really enjoyed included singer Marty Robbins, Elvis, comedians Red Skelton and Laurel and Hardy, Gene Autry and The Lone Ranger television series.

Orlo and Neva's 50th Wedding Anniversary was held at the large Broadway Christian Church in Wichita and was attended by many relatives and friends. A silver tea set they received that day has been passed down to their great-granddaughter, Kelsey McCorkle (Karen and Mark's daughter.). Neva enjoyed attending the Sunday morning services and Sunday school at this church, riding there with some of her friends or driving them in her car. She was a faithful member of this church for many years.

Neva was the keeper of several old and important family keepsakes including the vase that was brought by the Von Kellers from Germany to the U. S. in 1880. Neva also had a desk that her brother Oren made when he was in high school. She proudly displayed the desk in their home. The old vase, with flowers, can be seen with her in many of her photos, especially on her birthday, displayed as a centerpiece on their dining room table. A photo of the vase can be seen on Neva's mother's Findagrave page.
Orlo and Neva's oak dining room table was originally brought to Orlo's parent's home in a wagon pulled by a team of horses by Orlo's father, Alvin, when Orlo was 8 years old, making the year about 1916. (As told by Orlo Miller.) The old dining room table went to their son, Mel.
Neva also displayed in their home the old, large wedding photos of her parents as well as a photo of the old Wheeler farm near Greensburg with its very unusual double-fan windmill shown in the background. Neva also had large, oval photos of her grandparents, the Von Kellers, hung in their living room and family room.

Neva had a great habit of writing a note, generally on a piece of masking tape, on most anything given to her and Orlo as a gift. The note would tell who gave the gift and the date. Sure enough, a vase from the mantle of their house on Gold Street has a note on the bottom reading, "From Karen, Christmas 1982."

Following my dad's funeral in April 2007, I (Larry E. Barnes) spoke to John and Harlen Wheeler. John is the son of Neva's brother, Pete, and his wife, Opal. I immediately mentioned my grandparents and the trips out to the family dinners in Greensburg. I said that though we were like any other kids, in my grandparents' eyes we were nearly perfect. John immediately said, "You kids were their only grandchildren. Of course you were perfect as far as they were concerned." We were so fortunate to have had 2 sets of outstanding grandparents, living in the same town, and the opportunity to spend so much time with them. They were not only a big part of our lives, they were among those that shaped our lives. They're now gone, but their stories, memories and influence live on. Forever.